


Chasing Monsters

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Nightmares, mentions character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-14
Updated: 2015-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-14 17:43:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4573785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Iris is too old to ask her dad to check her closet for monsters. Turns out Joe can help after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chasing Monsters

**Author's Note:**

> For August Rush Day 10 : The Flash, a picture of Reverse Flash.

The dream is always the same. The Reverse Flash, the man in yellow of Barry's childhood nightmares, stands in front of Iris, his voice terrible, his eyes glowing an unnatural colour in the darkness. Sometimes he has Eddie by the neck, sometimes Barry (always Barry, never The Flash), and sometimes it's her dad. Sometimes, his arms are empty until he disappears and then he's behind her and his voice is in her ear, his breath against her cheek...

Waking up, heart pounding, tears in her eyes, is almost a relief. 

Except when she wakes up, she remembers there is no Reverse Flash, not any  more, and that reminds her of Eddie and the tears come again. 

Tonight's nightmare is no different and just like always, she reaches for a glass of water. Tonight, however, she has to stands, go downstairs to get one - usually, she brings it up with her, but tonight she'd forgotten for some reason. 

Turns out she's not the only one who can't sleep though, because when she gets down to the living room, the light is already on and her dad is sitting on the couch, staring into the unlit fire. 

"Hey, Dad," she says and he jumps a mile. 

"Jeez, sweetie, you scared me." He moves forward to the edge of the couch. "You ok?"

She tries to give him a smile as she drops down on the couch beside him. "Bad dreams." He frowns and she shrugs. "It's ok, Dad," she says, though she knows it's not. "I'm getting used to them."

That only makes his frown deepen. "You could have told me."

Her lips twist and she looks away, finds a picture of her and Barry as kids. Things had been so much simpler then, for all it had seemed so complicated at the time. "I'm a bit too old to ask my daddy to chase the monsters out of my closet."

"Yeah." His sigh seems to come from the depths of his soul. "If only that was where the monsters still lived." His hand, warm and heavy, closes over hers. "You know if I could do anything-"

"I know, Dad." She swallows hard, refuses to cry. "Anyway, I just came down for a drink..."

He gestures to his mug on the table. "Grab a cup... I'll share."

Iris wrinkles her nose. "It's not warm milk, is it?" Because that had been his cure for childhood nightmares, no matter how many times she told him she couldn't stand the stuff. 

"Not quite." He reaches for the mug, holds it close enough for her to sniff, grins as her eyes go wide. "What, you're legal, you can share a hot toddy with your old man."

She considers it for mere seconds before she's on her feet, coming back with a mug and letting him pour some in for her. The liquid is pleasantly warm as it slides down her throat and the soothing effect is instant. 

"Better?" There's a tiny smile playing around her dad's lips and this time, she's able to smile back. 

"I love you, Daddy," she tells him and he puts an arm around her shoulders, pulls her close. 

"I love you too, baby girl."


End file.
